The present invention relates to the field of combustion, and provides a monolith which imparts swirl to a gas stream. The monolith of the present invention may itself comprise a catalytic combustor, but it could also be uncoated and used only for imparting swirl. Because of its structure, the monolith of the present invention is also called a honeycomb.
Imparting a swirl to a gas stream is useful in stabilizing any flame which is downstream of the catalytic elements in a gas turbine combustion system, or other combustion system. A swirl also helps to prevent flashback.
The monolith of the present invention is made from a plurality of alternating flat and corrugated metal strips, the strips being arranged in curved paths extending from an inner, central region to an outer cylindrical shell. The strips preferably have the shape of segments of curves which are substantially involutes, and therefore occupy substantially all of the cross-sectional area between the central region and the outer shell. Monoliths of this type are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,835, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention provides a monolith which is formed of curved metal strips as described above, and which also imparts swirl to the gas flowing through it.